Everett Dale

Everett Junior Dale, 85
Caldwell, Idaho
"So when your time has all run out
And you face Jesus by the throne,
You will hear, 'Have you got time for this guy?'
You want to hear, 'I'll take time ... he's my own!'"
EJ Dale
Everett Junior Dale was a small man ... at least by this world's standards. He was not the president of any country. He never appeared on the cover of Newsweek, nor will you find his picture in Who's Who. He didn't even sell a million of anything. He was born on Oct. 15, 1921, near Davis City, Iowa, and died March 9, 2007, from complications of COPD. He lived 85 years and yet only a handful of people in the world will ever know that he existed. By his own admission in a moment of poetic awareness he mused:
"Well, I grew up in spite of it all,
I got pretty big, and I was black also;
But I just found out the other day . . .
I'm not an eagle, but an ugly crow."
E J Dale
But in the eyes of his family he was not a small man. Growing up in poverty during the Depression years, feeling the sting of being a POW during World War II, drinking the elixir of love from an earthenware cup, he learned the lessons of giants by forging his character by life's experiences.
Fortunately Everett loved to write poetry. Those who knew him best say that his rough blue collar hands could churn out rhymes as easily as most of us are able to write a check. Legend has it that he would quite often emerge from his nightly visits to the "water closet" with a fresh poem scrawled upon several sheets of toilet paper.
Within and between the lines of these poems beats the heart of this big man ... his dreams, his abiding love for his wife and family, his down-home humor, his personal pride, his unswerving honesty and work ethic, the desire to please his God ... the lessons of giants preserved for us to ponder.
"So until this world is tore into threads
We will work together and use our heads;
As for doing the right things . . . I'll do my best,
And I'll love you, sweetheart, 'til we're laid to rest."
EJ Dale
It has been said, "Living is like licking honey off a thorn." Fueled by simple and basic virtues, Everett took one lick at a time. With his eighth grade education and Iowan tongue, this normal man demonstrated the qualities and passion of a hero. His life gives those who ponder in the house of mourning the recipe for true success:
"So I'll have to be honest and fair and true,
Because that's the way Papa would have me to do."
EJ Dale
Married during a two-week leave in the army, he was immediately sent to the European theater and subsequently captured during the Battle of the Bulge. A few months after he was rescued from the POW camp, the war was over and he was released from the army on his birthday in 1945.
"But as I am willing and praying
For this dreadful war to end,
I'm wondering if I will be the same
When I return to her again."
EJ Dale
Not finding much work in Iowa, he blazed a path in the snow that winter to Idaho in a 1934 Chevy 2-door with a pregnant wife by his side. He worked at odd jobs including four years milking for a dairyman in Dixie. During this time he bought some land, built a three-room house, and began to raise his family of three sons. After realizing "the man with a truck works less but earns more money," he bought a truck and became his own boss as a commercial hay hauler for 19 years.
Because of his reputation and character, he was approached by several ranchers in 1970 to start a grain rolling business. After operating the portable steam mill for 14 years, he retired because of the effect of the dust on his health.
"After that I knew she was the only gal for me,
We married then and settled down and had our family three;
The boys are grown and on their own and all them through their teens,
But in our little home right here … she's still my little queen."
EJ Dale
Everett is survived by Della Mae Dale, his bride of 62 years; his three sons, James Dale and wife, Carol of Moscow, David Dale and wife, Bonnie of Greenleaf and Dennis Dale of Caldwell. He will be remembered by his nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was the sixth of eight children born to John Everett and Nancy Ann Dale and survived by his younger sister Alta McDaniel of Davis City, Iowa, and older brother Charles Dale of Flippin, Ark.
To summarize a man's life by listing accomplishments is like filling a jar with marbles. After it is full, sand can still fit between the cracks. Everett's life was fuller because his faith in Jesus Christ placed service between all he tried to do. He served his country, he served his family, he served his many friends around him with his music, his poetry, his wit and laughter and his homemade ice cream.
In the last few months, when he knew he was going to die, he reminded us of his favorite verse from Isaiah 40:31 (KJV):